The Superior schools got a pat on the back Monday for cutting energy costs by 20% during the last decade. Rich Kremer reports regulators took a tour of one of Superior’s most energy efficient schools.

Public Service Commission Chair Eric Callisto and Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel took a tour of Northern Lights Elementary School to see how technology is helping the district offset rising energy costs. Things like high efficiency lights, computerized boilers and centralized electrical controls have helped Northern Lights achieve 75% energy efficiency. Buildings and Grounds Director Gary Niemi says energy costs comprise about 60% of the School District’s entire budget.

“It boils down to, essentially, two factors. One, if we can cut energy use we can use those dollars to buy something else, we can use it to buy a better education for the students. Second, cutting energy use improves the future environment of our district.”

Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Soderlund has worked for the Superior District for 33 years. He says there’s been a dynamic change in the last decades.

“Back when I started we still had coal fired boilers and it was what we called the bucket and duct tape brigade. You hung buckets on leaky pipes and wrapped duct tape on things that needed to be fixed. You shovel coal till you get steam. Nowadays, it’s all computerized. From the moment you walk in the building till you go home at night, there isn’t a thing that isn’t computerized.”

Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chair Eric Callisto says this is the kind of model for the whole state.

“These are the kind of projects we love to see. There’s great leadership here in Superior in terms of pushing this from the school board down to the staff who implement things. So, it’s important to see these kind of community projects where there really is kilowatt hours and therms being saved.”

While the eight year-old Northern Lights Elementary was recognized by the state, virtually all of Superior schools achieved 75% energy efficiency. Lagging behind the rest is the venerable Cooper Elementary, built in 1970, with 50% energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin is hoping to become one of the greenest economies in the nation with the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Callisto and Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel spoke about the states need to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Leinenkugel says each year the state spends astronomical sums to fuel our economy.

“We have no coal, we have no natural gas and we have no oil. So, $16 billion is what we send out of the state. We need to recapture and reuse some of those dollars back in the state of Wisconsin.”

PSC Chairman Callisto says the Clean Energy Jobs Act will require utilities to use renewable energies like wind, solar, and biomass for 25% of the states need by 2025. Also, the bill would introduce electricity savings goals for utilities that reduce energy use by 2% by 2015. Callisto says six years ago Wisconsin led the nation by promising 10% of its electricity would come from renewables but the nation caught up.

“The states that surround us are at or even higher than that standard. Minnesota is at 30% from one of their utilities, Michigan is at 25%. So, we need to get back up with our peers and start to lead this challenge again.”

But the bill’s major selling point is job creation. Leinenkugel says in the first year more than 1,800 jobs could be created.

“Our research shows that we’re going to create 15,000 jobs by the year 2025. Much of that is because of energy efficiency. When you’re spending $16 billion on non-renewable sources of fuel in this state right now, that’s all money that’s leaving the state. Just recapturing 25% of those dollars and reinvesting them into businesses that create jobs in this state is going to be tremendous.”

Callisto says the Clean Energy Jobs Act will have hearings in the State Assembly and Senate in the next few weeks but isn’t sure if it will make it through by the end of this session.

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